''Man with a Camera'' is an American television

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

starring

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and war ...

as a war veteran turned

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

and investigator. Throughout the 1950s, Bronson spent most of his early acting career performing in

TV shows A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...

as well as small parts in

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s, until he landed the lead in this

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

series. This is the only TV series in which he played the lead role.

Plot

Bronson portrayed Mike Kovac, a former

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

combat photographer, freelancing in New York City, who specialized in getting the photographs that other lensmen could not. He usually assists newspapers, insurance companies, the police and private individuals, all of whom want a filmed record of an event. By often acting as a

private eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...

, Kovac gets himself into plenty of trouble involving criminals of every kind, helping with cases the police could not handle. Besides an array of cameras for normal use, for surreptitious work Kovac employs cameras hidden in a radio, cigarette lighter and even his necktie. He also has a phone in his car, and a portable darkroom in the trunk where he could develop his negatives on the spot. Kovac's police liaison is Lieutenant Donovan (

James Flavin James William Flavin Jr. (May 14, 1906 – April 23, 1976) was an American character actor whose career lasted for nearly half a century. Early life The son of a hotel waiter of Canadian-English descent,Flavin's obituary, distributed by United ...

), though he frequently seeks advice from Anton Kovac (

Ludwig Stössel Ludwig Stössel (12 February 1883 – 29 January 1973) was an actor born in Lockenhaus, now Austria, then Hungary. He was one of many Jewish actors and actresses who were forced to flee Germany when the Nazis came to power in 1933. Biography St ...

), his immigrant father.

Main cast

as Mike Kovac *

as Lieutenant Donovan *

as Anton Kovac

Selected guest stars

* Mario Alcalde *

Rachel Ames Rachel Kay Foulger (born November 2, 1929), known professionally as Rachel Ames, is an American film and television actress. The daughter of actors Byron Foulger and Dorothy Adams, she was raised in Portland, Oregon, and Los Angeles, California. ...

Roscoe Ates Roscoe Blevel Ates (January 20, 1895 – March 1, 1962) was an American vaudeville performer, actor of stage and screen, comedian and musician who primarily featured in western films and television. He was best known as western character So ...

Phyllis Avery Phyllis Avery (November 14, 1922-May 19, 2011) was an American actress. Early life Phyllis Avery was born to screenwriter Stephen Morehouse Avery and his wife Evelyn Martine Avery.

Baynes Barron Bernard Miller (May 29, 1917 – July 21, 1982) was an American film and television actor. Born in New York. Barron began his career in 1946, first appearing in the film ''The Secret of the Whistler''. He then made his television debut in 1951, ...

Arthur Batanides Arthur Batanides (April 9, 1923 – January 10, 2000) was an American film and television actor, originally from Tacoma, Washington. Biography and career He became enamored with acting after performing stand-up routines in front of fellow GIs in ...

Nesdon Booth Nesdon Foye Booth (September 1, 1918 – March 25, 1964) was an American film and television actor. He appeared in over 100 films and television programs, and was known for his recurring role as Frank the bartender in the American western televi ...

* Steve Brodie * Sebastian Cabot *

King Calder Albert King Calder (April 21, 1898 – June 28, 1964) was an American film, television and theatre actor. Early life Calder was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He began his acting career in 1929 in the Broadway play ''The Humbug'', playing D ...

* Anthony Caruso *

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* Marian Collier *

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Russ Conway Russ Conway, DSM (born Trevor Herbert Stanford; 2 September 1925 – 16 November 2000) was an English popular music pianist and composer. Conway had 20 piano instrumentals in the UK Singles Chart between 1957 and 1963, including two number one ...

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Norma Crane Norma Crane (born Norma Anna Bella Zuckerman; November 10, 1928 — September 28, 1973) was an American actress of stage, film, and television best known for her role as Golde in the 1971 film adaptation of ''Fiddler on the Roof''. She also star ...

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Alan Dexter Alan Persching Dexter (October 21, 1918 – December 19, 1983) was an American film, stage and television actor. Life and career Dexter was born in Oklahoma. He began his career in 1943, appearing in an uncredited role in the film ''This Is t ...

Angie Dickinson Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in ''Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wit ...

Dolores Donlon Dolores Donlon (born Patricia Vaniver; September 19, 1920 – November 30, 2012) was an American model and actress. Career Born in 1920 in Philadelphia and raised in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, Donlon attended a convent school in Tarrytown, New Yo ...

Don Durant Don Durant (born Donald Allison Durae; November 20, 1932 – March 15, 2005) was an American actor and singer, best known for his role as the gunslinger-turned-sheriff in the CBS Western series ''Johnny Ringo'', which ran on Thursdays from Octobe ...

Robert Ellenstein Robert Ellenstein (June 18, 1923 – October 28, 2010) was an American actor. The son of Meyer C. Ellenstein, a Newark dentist, Ellenstein grew up to see his father become a two-term mayor from 1933 to 1941. He served in the United States Army ...

Bill Erwin William Lindsey Erwin (December 2, 1914 – December 29, 2010) was an American film, stage and television actor and cartoonist with over 250 television and film credits. A veteran character actor, he is widely known for his 1993 Emmy Award-nomi ...

Frank Faylen Frank Faylen (born Charles Francis Ruf, December 8, 1905 – August 2, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Largely a bit player and character actor, he occasionally played more fleshed-out supporting roles during his forty-two ...

Virginia Field Virginia Field (born Margaret Cynthia Field; 4 November 1917 – 2 January 1992) was a British-born film actress. Early years An only child, born in London, her father was Sir John Field. He was the judge of Leicester County Court Circuit. H ...

* Don Gordon * Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. * I. Stanford Jolley *

William Kendis William Kaleviano (May 27, 1916 – December 17, 1980) was an American television actor. Born in New Hampshire. Kendis appeared in the private detective television series '' Michael Shayne'', playing Emmett Hughes. He guest-starred in television ...

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Jess Kirkpatrick Jesse Bertram Kirkpatrick (October 2, 1897 – August 9, 1976) was an American film and television actor. Life and career Kirkpatrick was born in Champaign County, Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois, where he played as a half ...

Berry Kroeger Berry Kroeger (October 16, 1912 – January 4, 1991) was an American film, television and stage actor. Career Kroeger was born in San Antonio, Texas. He got his acting start on radio as an announcer on ''Suspense'' and as an actor, playing fo ...

Fred Krone Fred Krone (June 19, 1930 – January 12, 2010), also known as Krunch, was an American actor and stuntman who worked predominantly in Westerns. Career Krone was born in Kentucky. He began working in the 1950s performing stunts and as an acto ...

Ethan Laidlaw Ethan Allen Laidlaw (November 25, 1899 – May 25, 1963) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 350 films and made more than 500 appearances on television, mainly uncredited in Westerns, between 1923 and 1962. Laidlaw was bor ...

Tom Laughlin Thomas Robert Laughlin Jr. (August 10, 1931 – December 12, 2013) was an American actor, director, screenwriter, author, educator, and activist. Laughlin was best known for his series of ''Billy Jack'' films. He was married to actress De ...

Nolan Leary George Nolan Leary (April 26, 1889 – December 12, 1987) was an American actor and playwright. Leary was born in Rock Island County, Illinois. His acting career started in France during World War I, providing entertainment for United States Tr ...

Norman Leavitt Norman Turner Leavitt (December 1, 1913 – December 11, 2005) was an American film and television actor. Life and career Leavitt was born in Lansing, Michigan. He began his stage career in 1935, appearing as a wedding guest in the Broadway ...

Ruta Lee Ruta Lee (born Ruta Mary Kilmonis; May 30, 1935) is an American actress and dancer who appeared as one of the brides in the musical ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers''. She had roles in films including Billy Wilder's crime drama ''Witness for th ...

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* John M. Pickard *

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* Simon Scott * Johnny Seven *

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* Peter Walker * Casey Walters *

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* Jesse White * Grant Williams Casey Walters in Man with a Camera (Eyewitness)

Episodes

Baynes Barron in Man with a Camera (The Man Below)

Season 1: 1958–59

Season 2: 1959–60

Production

''Man with a Camera'' was filmed on locations in Hollywood (doubling for New York City) at

Desilu Studios The Culver Studios is a movie studio in Culver City, California. Originally created by silent movie pioneer Thomas H. Ince, classics from Hollywood's Golden Age were filmed there. It is currently owned by Hackman Capital Partners, which completely ...

. The series had two abbreviated seasons in 1958-59 and 1959–60 and was aired on the ABC-TV network, Friday nights at 9:00 pm.

Home media

The entire run of the series' 29 episodes was released in 2007 by the Infinity Entertainment Group, in collaboration with the Falcon Picture Group and the UCLA Film & Television Archive, from which the source prints were obtained.

Alpha Video Alpha Video (also known as Alpha Home Entertainment) is an entertainment company, based near Philadelphia, that specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of public domain movies and TV shows on DVD. Alpha Video releases approximately 30 ne ...

has released three individual volumes on DVD, each containing four episodes from the series. A fourth volume was released on February 25, 2014. On October 17, 2017, Mill Creek Entertainment released the complete series on DVD + Digital.

Sources

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Man With A Camera 1950s American crime drama television series 1960s American crime drama television series 1958 American television series debuts 1960 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming Black-and-white American television shows Television series by CBS Studios Works about photography Television shows set in New York City Television shows filmed in Los Angeles